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Friday, March 29, 2024

House minority junks panel report on Leila

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OPPOSITION lawmakers will submit their “minority report” to the plenary to counter the justice committee report that failed to recommend charges against Senator Leila de Lima for her alleged role in the proliferation of illegal drugs in the national penitentiary.

The minority report would carry findings that would prompt the House to recommend the filing of criminal charges against De Lima for her alleged involvement in the illegal drug trade at New Bilibid Prison, when she was Justice secretary, House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said.

Senator Leila de Lima

“There is no such thing as justice committee report as it did not have the signature of the minority leader. We call it a majority report. The majority report is neither here nor there,” said House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza.

The minority bloc protested the findings of the House committee on justice, chaired by Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, as the report did not recommend any charges to be filed against De Lima and other former officials.

Suarez contradicted Umali’s position that it was the job of the Executive to file appropriate charges against the personalities involved in the proliferation of the drug trade at the maximum security compound as the panel’s intention for the probe was “in aid of legislation.”

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“We weigh the importance of fulfilling our mandate as public servants against the insistence on the separation of powers. Faced with the information revealed, are we, as public officials, to just allow nature take its course without even voicing what we feel is the right thing to do? What we propose is a mere recommendation. A recommendation that the Executive can accept, or reject,” Suarez read the joint statement during a recent press conference.

Suarez said the minority bloc would bring up the case to the plenary and convince the House members to recommend the filing of criminal charges against those who violated the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act and those who committed acts of bribery and corruption.

De Lima was tagged by President Rodrigo Duterte as part of the narco-matrix that operated in the NBP.

The witnesses in the four hearings of the justice committee pointed to De Lima as having received drug money from syndicates to bankroll her senatorial campaign.

Suarez argued that during the previous administration, investigations in aid of legislation routinely resulted in the recommendation of filing of proper charges contained in their respective committee reports.

The minority leader cited as example the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s recommendation to file charges against those involved in the pork barrel scam.

“Now, the current chair [Umali] has been quoted as saying that no recommendations will be made because it is not a legislative function. This statement was made even before the report was [released]. Can we ask for a clarification why there were recommendations during the past administration, and none now? Aren’t we all legislators? Weren’t these investigations all in aid of legislation?” Suarez said.

Suarez expressed dismay that after four nationally televised hearings, 22 witnesses, 10 resource persons, an uncontroverted Discovery Channel documentary, all testimonies pointed to one sordid truth: “Powerful people during the past administration not only dropped the ball in protecting us, they also contributed to the drug problem’s massive growth.”

“We are investigating a multi-billion industry with powerful and well-connected people benefitting from this unspeakable arrangement. The drug trade, on a commercial level, infiltrated our national penitentiaries and transformed our prisons as convenient venues for the illegal activities to proliferate. This happened with the knowledge and complicity of government officials, as testified to by the drug personalities and other witnesses,” Suarez said.

“There should be no hesitation in our actions to rid our country of the drug menace. Our country has taken a huge step in fighting this pandemic, which has plagued us most especially during the last six years. Let us not waste it by using meek words in this time of action,” Suarez said.

The minority bloc vowed to file amendatory legislation to impose stricter standards in the correctional facilities. 

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